A number of attempts have been made to produce skin-friendly absorbent articles. The surfaces intended to bear against the skin of the user during use of the article, especially the liquid-permeable topsheet of the article, can be coated with a skin-conditioning agent. This is disclosed in WO 96/16682, e.g., which describes a diaper having a lotioned topsheet.
WO 99/22684 discloses a web material having two or more skin care compositions. The web is attached at different points of a diaper, e.g., the topsheet, the liquid barriers or the like which are in direct contact with the skin of the wearer.
Hydrogel foams are known as absorbent elements in absorbent articles. EP-B-0 858 478 and WO-A-00/52087, e.g., describe water-absorbent, predominantly open-celled foams based on crosslinked acid-functional monomers. They are prepared by foaming a polymerizable aqueous mixture containing at least 50 mol % neutralized acid-functional monoethylenically unsaturated monomers, crosslinkers and at least one surfactant and subsequently polymerizing the foamed mixture. The foaming of the polymerizable mixture can be effected, e.g., by dispersing fine bubbles of a gas, which is inert toward free radicals or by dissolving such a gas under elevated pressure in the polymerizable mixture and decompressing the mixture. The water content of the foams is adjusted to 1-60% by weight, e.g. The foams can optionally be subjected to surface postcrosslinking by spraying a crosslinker onto the foamed material or immersing the foam therein and heating the crosslinker-laden foam to a higher temperature. The foams are used, e.g., in hygiene articles to acquire, distribute and store body fluids.
WO-A-99/44648 likewise discloses predominantly open-celled foams based on crosslinked acid-functional monomers where at least 20 mol % of the acid-functional monomers are neutralized with tertiary alkanolamines and/or the free acid groups of the hydrogel foam are at least 20 mol % neutralized with at least one alkanolamine after polymerisation The hydrogel foams neutralized with alkanolamines are tacky. The tackiness is fully removable by powdering with finely divided powders such as finely divided silicon dioxide, talcum, silicates or starch.
WO-A-97/31600 discloses an absorbent element for use in hygiene or sanitary articles wherein a plurality of elements of a superabsorbent foam are arranged on a support in a grid pattern at such distances that the elements in the swollen state touch at their peripheries. For example, a monomer foam can be applied to the support in the desired grid pattern and then polymerized or separately prepared foam elements can be fixed on the support in the desired grid pattern by chemical or physical means.